“Gods, no,” Aria says.
“Did the rest of them send you?”
“I go where I choose,” Aria answers, raising her eyebrows as if to tell me this was a stupid question. “I just want to talk.”
She's beautiful. Strong arched eyebrows, a button nose, full lips. Good looks run in the family. I’m tempted to flirt with her just to prove to Roiven that I’mnothis wife, but a small part of me knows I’m being petty.
And an even smaller part of me knows my heart is far, far too bruised to entertain a flirtation.
“...Fine.” I reluctantly let go of my sword and let it fall back into the sheath.
“You really didn’t know about the bond?” Aria asks quietly.
“No. He just said I had to get it if I was going to come here.”
“Bastard,” Aria whispers under her breath.
I think I like her. At least, right now I like her more than Roiven.
“How come all of you seemed to know about me? And how did Roiven know the Hellions were getting close?” I burst out, unable to help myself. “It’s like you’ve all been talking already.”
“You met Nor?” She tilts her head to the side. I nod. “They told us Roiven had taken a knight captive. They’re a far-speaker.”
“A what?”
“It’s a type of power.” She folds her arms and leans back against the rock wall of the mountain. “They weren't sure if you’d really changed sides or if you were just pretending. Nor, I mean. They couldn’t get a read on you.”
I rub my face with my living hand and decline to answer.
“I guess my brother made up his mind,” Aria continues. Her voice sounds distant. “Roiven… he’s always taken on the weight of the world. And sometimes, he tries to decide what’s best for the people around him. He’s usually right, but it doesn’t make it any less annoying.”
I give her a disbelieving look, my eyebrows knitted together and my mouth slack.
“I’m sorry, are you trying to convince me to behappythat he decided to trick me into marrying him?”
Aria’s lips twitch.
“No,” she says. “I’m just saying his explanation is probably worth listening to, at some point, because if he decided to trick a knight into this…? He must have had a hell of a reason.”
“Great,” I say sarcastically.
“So what makes you special?”
“Excuse me?”
“You must have some idea why he did this.”
“You’re the ones who told him to get close to me.”
“That was his idea.”
“You said you all agreed—”
“We did, after he convinced us. Because a captured knight might have valuable information,” she says.
My head spins. Did Roiven not tell them about the kraken?
And did he convince them to let him get close to me, instead of killing me? Why would he do that? Maybe the enchantment made him, by forcing him to keep me safe.
